


Let Lips Do What Hands Do

by itzkdlin



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: 50 kisses, Angst, Drabble Collection, Female Apprentice (The Arcana), Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Male Apprentice (The Arcana), Multi, Nonbinary Apprentice (The Arcana), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:28:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22819270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzkdlin/pseuds/itzkdlin
Summary: A series of drabbles based on the 50 Kisses Challenge~"Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.""Then have my lips the sin that they have took.""Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again."
Relationships: Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana), Apprentice/Julian Devorak, Apprentice/Lucio (The Arcana), Apprentice/Muriel (The Arcana), Apprentice/Nadia (The Arcana), Apprentice/Nahara (The Arcana), Apprentice/Portia Devorak
Comments: 4
Kudos: 75





	1. The Truth About Mornings

**Author's Note:**

> Lucio : Good Morning

I had been led to believe that mornings were romantic, filled with soft kisses and promises, warm sunlight and comfort, something I had only ever dreamed of experiencing.  
This was... different.   
There were a few stray hairs stuck in the corner of my mouth that I gracefully tried to spit out. My right side felt drenched with sweat while my left arm had escaped the inferno and was flush with goosebumps. I had a mouth filled with cotton, and stifled a yawn for fear of the smell of my breath.  
This was... unexpected.  
As was the body I was tightly pressed against. The weight of a cool metal arm against my back was a welcome relief under the few layers of blankets we had retreated under after last nights... events. I felt a hand in my hair, and after a few minutes of trying my best to fall back asleep to escape this reality, I felt the twitching of fingers before they slowly started to card through my tangled locks.  
I knew the type of man I was with. Knew of his dramatics, his love for the bold and brazen, knew that with a snap of golden fingers could have nearly anything he desired.  
And here I was, trying my best to keep my mouth from falling slack, because if even a drop of drool fell onto the Counts bare chest I would spring up and walk out and never return.  
This was utterly embarrassing.  
Continuing to pretend to be asleep would no doubt annoy the hot tempered man curled around me, and I needed all the help I could get right now. I gradually started to stretch out my muscles, trying to build up enough confidence to make some witty comment about the awkwardness of the morning after and ohhh dear heavens don't lean back why in the world is there still a wet spot doesnt that stuff eventually dry?!  
“I trust you slept well.”   
The sound of Lucios husky voice sent a thrill through me, and I struggled not to let my emotions show. Struggled to do much of anything, as he now had two strong arms wrapped firmly around my middle and a leg thrown over both of mine. I often forgot that I was with a man who had spent much of his youth building muscle, and it was evident that years spent in luxury hadn't taken any of it away.   
I was very much stuck, and very much aware of my sweat and messy hair and the crust in the corners of my eyes and-  
“What in the world are you looking at? I can assure you that I'm much more interesting than anything you could find in this room. Sick of me already?”  
Dear Gods what should I do? What should I say??  
“Of course not,” I finally mumbled, trying to discreetly rub my palm against my eyes.   
“Hey. Look at me.”  
What would he find? Would he be disappointed? I wasn't much of a physical person, and the light escaping through the curtains was a lot brighter than it should be so early in the day.  
But ignoring Lucio was unimaginable, so I slowly raised my head and rested my eyes on...  
Imperfection.  
There was a tuft of blonde hair sticking straight up from where it had been plastered against a pillow. A few red creases ran across his left cheek, marring his lovely fair complexion. His lips looked a little dry, there was a bit of stubble growing along his jawline, and... And he was beautiful.   
“There you are.” Lucio ran a thumb along my cheekbone while tenderly cupping my face, looking almost reverent. His eyes crinkled up and he smiled softly, leaning in to rest our foreheads together.  
“I missed you,” Lucio whispered.   
“I've been here the entire night,” I chuckled. I felt a painful sort of warmth start to spread through my chest as I tilted my head back to look into a pair of still sleepy silver eyes.   
“It was much too long. I can barely stand to be apart from you for even a minute!”   
“Truly?”  
This. This was...  
I inhaled sharply as chapped lips pressed against my own in a sweet, chaste kiss. Once, then twice, then again and again until I lost count.  
“I have to get up soon, Asra’s probably wondering where I am,” I said unconvincingly between kisses  
“Let them wait.”  
Seconds blended into minutes, which stretched into hours, just me and my love.  
This was the beauty of mornings.


	2. A Minute Before Midnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nadia : Goodnight

I dipped my feet into the water and let out a happy sigh as the problems of the day started to slowly melt away. The intoxicating smell of jasmine and ylang ylang drifted through the air, making me feel slightly dizzy as I let the rest of my body sink into the bath. It was just a few degrees below scalding, and the mix of heat and healing oils allowed me to fully relax.

Until...

The doors to the room flew open, and as steam started to filter out, Nadia strode in, not even sparing a glance as she disappeared behind the changing screen. 

I could hear strained mumbles as jewels and clothing fell to the floor, and she reemerged in a thin gauzy robe.

“Ah, my dear, I hardly noticed your presence. My apologies, I am quite distracted today. I hope you don't mind me joining you?”

She looked... well, stressed wasn't a strong enough word for the way she looked. Mouth in a thin, tight line, shoulders stiff, a single hand slowly massaging her temple. No doubt another headache, probably brought on by the less than competent retainers, or the presence of her sisters who had just arrived to help prepare for the summer solstice ball. 

And there was the canal construction being done in the flooded district, as well as all the job interviews being held now that Hestion was on leave...

I felt my own head start to throb as I thought about all that was going on, and tried my best to distract myself before it turned into a full blown migraine.

Which turned out to be easy as I watched Nadia pull the sash off her robe, delicate silk drifting to the floor as her lithe figure descended down the steps to join me.

“I'm afraid I cannot stay for long, however a break was absolutely necessary lest I... Well, we won't speak of it for now. I trust I will see you again later tonight?” 

She raised a single curved eyebrow as she asked this, raising a handful of water to her chest as she rinsed away the days worries.

“Of course you will, how will I get any sleep otherwise?”

A soft smile spread on Nadia's face as she quickly turned and started to climb back out of the bath.

“Leaving so soon? Surely you can spare just a few more minutes,” I said with a frown. 

“I'm afraid not darling. I refuse to spend another night toiling until dawn to finish work that should be completed during the day.”

As it should be, in my opinion. The Countess was already spreading herself thin trying to restore Vesuvia back to its former glory, a feat easier said than done.

“Besides, the quicker I finish, the quicker I can return to you,” she said as she slipped into a clean dress.

“That's fine, but I will expect you in bed no later than midnight. We have important work to do as well, you know.”

Her tyrian head fell back as laughter filled the room. “Oh absolutely, you know I hold our mutual projects at the highest value, I wouldn't dare to miss a single meeting.”

With a wicked gleam in her eyes, she strode forward to the edge of the bath, a vision amongst the swirling lavender steam rising from the fragrant water.

Nadia's hand tangled in my hair and pulled me up to her magenta lips, claiming my mouth in a passionate kiss as my eyes fluttered shut.

I felt myself become light headed as our mouths slotted together, a nip to my bottom lip pulling a gasp from deep inside me as the taste of wine and honey flooded my mouth.

It ended as soon as swiftly as it began, and I felt myself being lowered back into the water, not opening my eyes again until I heard the door open, my beautiful fiance already composed and ready to step back into the busy corridor. 

She turned, a gentle smile gracing her noble face.

“Until then.”


	3. Not Soon Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Portia : Goodbye

There was a dull ache in my head that had slowly gotten worse as the day went on. The crick in my neck was no doubt due to the craning I had to do to meet the bucket beside the bed, and although I knew Portia would say she didn't care, I’d be damned if I allowed her beautiful handmade quilt to be dirtied with the contents of my stomach. 

The front door swung open as my savior came striding in with the sunlight, arms filled with a plethora of... vegetables......

“Oh don't give me that look. You're going to eat these and I don't really care if you like it because you need to get better.”

“But carrots are gross...” I whined, dramatically throwing an arm over my pounding head.

“Goodness, you're no better than Ilya when you're sick,” she mumbled as she dumped the contents of her basket onto the kitchen table. 

In that moment I desperately wished I had the strength to get up and scoop her up into a hug, to wipe off the smudge of dirt streaked across her freckled cheek, and let her know how much I truly appreciated her help.

But alas, I was sick. Suffering. All alone.

Pepi chose that moment to gracefully leap up and settle herself on my chest, turning in slow circles before plopping down and sending comforting vibrations through my body.

Not completely alone, then. 

I watched as Portia moved around the kitchen, bringing out knives and bowls in a bewitchingly efficient manner. I was extremely grateful for her dedication to my health, despite my bellyaching. I hated being useless, being unable to do anything aside from watching the shadows move across the cottage as minutes blended into hours. 

But I had to admit, I didn't mind too much when it meant I got to see her in such a state; loose ringlets tumbling from her drawn up hair, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she chopped up a bell pepper. I longed to smooth away the skin there with a kiss, but quickly buried the feeling deep down, lest I cause her to feel ill as well. 

Time passed by pleasantly slow as I watched her prepare my lunch, until she finally let out a happy sigh and carried over a bowl filled to the brim with... vegetables.

I forced a smile onto my face and carefully placed Pepi onto my lap as I sat up. 

It actually didn't look too bad, I had watched her holding back sneezes while brandishing all sorts of vials filled with different herbs and spices, but even if it tasted like pure dirt, I wouldn't truly mind. 

Being able to see my little star if only for an hour was enough to have me feeling lighter.

I struggled to arrange my legs under me, and let out a content sigh when Portia finally fit herself against my side. 

I was ready to start digging in when a pale hand gently settled onto the hand holding my fork. 

“Now I know you don't like vegetables. And I know you would rather have some of Mazelinkas soup, which I swear I will get now that she’s back from her trip, but this is good for you and you need to start building up your strength again and Pepi said she missed seeing you smile and bounce around so-”

I leaned in and pressed a single finger upon her bottom lip.

“Thank you, Portia. For letting me crash here, for feeding me and taking such good care of me... I really appreciate it. I hope you know I wouldn't hesitate to do the same for you. And while I am incredibly grateful...”

I slid one hand into her mass of fiery curls, tilted her head towards me and whispered, “Isn't Nadias ‘welcome home’ luncheon starting soon?”

I watched the blush travel up from her chest to the apples of her cheeks as she shot up and started to frantically gather up her things. 

“I almost forgot! That's what I get for letting you distract me, I never learn, huh?”

Once her sash was firmly retied, she hurried over and threw her arms around me, enveloping me in her warmth and the smell of sweet peas.

“I’ll be back soon. Try to get some more rest before I get back, kay?”

She leaned back and dropped a light kiss to the very tip of my nose, sending a pang of longing throughout me. 

“I will. Miss you already.”

“Oh stop that, you. Alright Pepi, let’s go!”

With one last wave Portia skipped out, letting the door shut softly behind her. 

I savored every last bite of my food. And after shuffling over to clean my dishes, I plopped myself in front of the window, waiting for my beloved to return.


	4. For Good Measure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Julian : Where It Hurts

“But Doc, look how red it is! And it hurts too, like the upper part, you didn't even really check there!”

“It’s red because you keep rubbing it, and why in the world would your thigh hurt, especially that far up?” 

My plan was... not going well.

For weeks I had been trying to find a logical way to make an appointment with the new doctor next door without causing some sort of irreversible damage to myself. 

But he was incredibly popular, for obvious reasons. There were two other doctors working there as well, and while they were really nice, they weren't him. 

Short of hauling myself from the top of the stairs and hoping for the best, I realized I had to give in and book a regular appointment, and as the days and weeks went by I grew more and more restless.

And alas, the day was here. And it was going kind of...

“Look Doc, I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but I think I know when something’s not right, I mean I've been looking at myself for the past 20 something years so-”

“You wrote down that you were 32 on the patient form.”

“-what I'm SAYING is that I would appreciate a little more thoroughness is all.” 

Dammit, why did I put down my actual age what kind of an imbecile-

“You know what, I think you're right.”

What. WHAT??

I lifted my head up and paused in my efforts to lift my loose pants as high up as they could go. He had a very thoughtful look on his face, which seemed to be at war with the mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Was he... being serious? Were my dreams coming true?? 

“Um, well,” I stuttered, “Yeah, of course I'm right. Right?”

“Oh yes. From what I can see, you seem to be perfectly healthy. But there's no way to know for sure unless I take a more in depth look at things. Which could take quite awhile, if that's agreeable with you?” 

“Yes! I mean yeah that's smart. Like right now?”

“Well, for what I have in mind, we might need a little more time and space. Maybe tomorrow around 6?”

Wait. Wait, what is happening right now? Is this real? Am I going to wake up soon with Asra standing over me asking me what the hell is wrong with me?

In my hesitation a small blush began to grow on Julians face.

“I mean I understand if you wouldn't want to, no pressure or anything-”

“NO! I mean yes! Yes that definitely works for me, 6 tomorrow and not a second after!”

A smile began to grow on his stupidly beautiful face, and he turned around quickly, busying himself with something I couldn't see.

“Well then, the only thing that's left is to patch you up and send you on your way.”

I was still in a daze as I started to roll my pant leg back down. Patch me up?

“Ah ah! I'm not done with you yet.”

I snapped my gaze up to his, only to see him looking down at my still exposed leg.

He quickly rubbed my thigh with something wet, and started to unpeel a red bandaid with cute little ravens dancing across it. 

Ever so slowly, he leaned down and waited until I met his gaze before placing the softest of kisses on my thigh, hastily standing up after and applying the bandaid.

Tease. He’s a dirty tease! 

“Well then, I hope the rest of your day goes by pleasantly, and I shall see you tomorrow!” 

“Thank you doctor, I'll be counting the seconds until then!”

As I stepped out, I missed the little mumble that left him as I ran out, ready to brag to everyone about my hot date.

“I will be too.”


End file.
